19. A Lucrative Outing
19. A Lucrative Outing
──What is the meaning of this?
──Just as you see. It appears Finance Officer Marcus has also come regarding the investment.
──Is Grandis Academy looking to invest in the rock salt mine as well?
──I didn't imagine you'd even pitched this to the royal family.
It was a somewhat abrupt encounter, but it worked out well.
It seemed Count Anton had ties to the royal family. Considering that it was the current king, Aken Delminos, who had ruined House Beryl in the first place, this was a curious turn of events.
The real cause, of course, was Count Beryl's choice of the wrong side in the civil war, but people don't always think that rationally. I'd assumed there would be some resentment toward the royal family.
'The investment must be truly urgent for him.'
From the royal family's perspective, it was a worthwhile investment. It was a poison-then-antidote gambit, but if they got ten times their money back, that would suffice.
Moreover, they could exert influence over one of the kingdom's few salt mines, so they'd have jumped at the chance.
The problem was the absurd hundred-year condition.
"...In other words, Count Anton, you're demanding a hundred-year installment plan as a condition."
"Even for the royal family, it's a condition we can't back down from."
"Hmm......."
Finance Officer Marcus's eyes turned toward me. He was asking if it was real. I answered with a slight roll of my eyes. It was real.
Damn. Finance Officer Marcus turned his face away and unmistakably mouthed that word.
It was the kind of condition that would make any working-level official curse.
At least my position inside the academy was solid, so I could manage.
'If the negotiation fails because of the condition, they'll curse me for losing ten times the investment. If it succeeds, they'll ask if a hundred years makes any sense.'
Count Anton's outrageous condition was the cause, so what was the working-level official's sin? Overcoming that kind of contradiction is exactly what this job entails. Even I, right now, had nothing to do with the bankruptcy, but if the academy went under, I'd be the first scapegoat.
It would be a problem even if the Chairwoman defended me desperately. The kingdom would probably claim I'd seduced the Chairwoman and try to settle things by killing me alone. And if they threw me in prison, that would just be a bonus leash around the Chairwoman through my existence.
That's why field people get ground down. The higher-ups don't understand that... Well, the Chairwoman understood it and did it herself, and that's how things got this bad, right?
In any case, if Finance Officer Marcus went back like this, it was obvious he'd face disciplinary action and attacks from his department.
'They probably sent him here with that intention from the start.'
From the royal family's standpoint, if the investment succeeded, great. If it failed, they could cut loose a finance officer who was too stiff and didn't fit in.
When he'd been sent to audit the academy's finances, I'd felt it—this man Marcus was stuck in the middle and likely suffering quite a bit mentally. Not to the degree I had, back when that audit was practically a death sentence for me.
And Marcus himself knew that situation well.
──Can you really go back like this?
──There's no way. An organization needs a protruding nail like me sometimes, but there are quite a few people who find me an eyesore.
──That puts you in a very difficult spot.
──You seem to be in the same boat.
We were both 1st Rank and similar working-level types, so just meeting each other's eyes let us grasp each other's thoughts reasonably well.
In the end, I was fine with the investment itself, the condition was the problem, and Finance Officer Marcus needed to soften that condition and invest in order to keep his post.
So even without exchanging a word, drawing up a plan was simple.
"A hundred years really does seem difficult. My apologies."
"I see. I can understand that choice. As a major investor, Grandis Academy would be a shame to lose. To let such an opportunity slip away..."
"I am the representative of Grandis Academy, but I am also the Chairwoman's proxy."
"...A proxy? You mean you're not just the the academy's Finance Director, but someone acting on behalf of the Chairwoman herself?"
"That's correct."
Within the academy, it was known that I was the Finance Director and the Chairwoman's secret lover(?) and closest confidant, but Count Anton would have a hard time knowing that. Even if he did, he'd have doubted how a mere 1st Rank could be her closest aide.
My reason for deliberately bringing up the Chairwoman was simple.
In the wider world, "Grandis Academy" and "the Chairwoman" were clearly distinct entities.
'I know that in reality the academy is the Chairwoman and the Chairwoman is the academy, though.'
Outsiders who still believed the Chairwoman was the richest person in the kingdom merely thought she was devoting herself to education and that she could step down from her position at any time.
In that situation, if the young Finance Director of the academy was also the Chairwoman's closest aide...
From Count Anton's perspective, that meant he'd lost two investors: "Grandis Academy" and "the Chairwoman." Hadn't Professor Alon, back in his office, recommended the investment to me without separately mentioning the Chairwoman? The academy's public funds were public funds, and the Chairwoman's personal assets were separate.
Of course, I couldn't pressure Count Anton with just this kind of talk. The reason I'd said something unnecessary like this was──
To send a signal to Finance Officer Marcus.
"The royal family is in the same position. You've offered us a splendid opportunity, but we can only shake our heads."
"Finance Officer Marcus, surely the royal family wouldn't want to miss this chance?"
"How could I presume to guess His Majesty's and the royal family's wishes? I am a lowly finance officer, so I judge only within the limits of my own small thoughts."
Oh, was that the finesse of experience? He naturally brought up the king and the royal family, leaving the opponent no room to argue back.
After filing away that valuable tip, Finance Officer Marcus and I rose from our seats at the same time.
"...Is that so. A genuine shame, but it can't be helped. I'll see you out."
"That won't be necessary. We'll stay at an inn tonight and depart tomorrow, so I'll come see you again in the morning."
"I am also scheduled to return to the royal palace tomorrow, so I'll impose on your hospitality as well."
"If you change your mind at any time, do come find me."
Change my mind and come find you? That'll happen. But the one coming won't be us; it'll be you.
Count Anton had lost three enormous investment opportunities: Grandis Academy, the Chairwoman, and the royal family. From the count's perspective, it was a terrible waste, but since he already had other investors, he could manage to brush it off. However, he clearly still had lingering attachment, judging by how he left the door open until the very end.
If the count had let his guard down, it was because── though a shrewd negotiator and a cunning noble even at 2nd Rank──he had failed to predict the thinking of two 1st Ranks who had risen to high positions without power or status.
As we accepted the count's farewell and left the reception room, walking down the corridor──
"Shall I go first?"
"Thank you for giving a junior such a fine opportunity."
"You, who enjoy the Chairwoman's favor more than I do, will find it easier to maneuver. And above all, even if things go wrong, my share of the blame will shrink."
"As expected, you speak exactly as you did when we last met in that hut."
"And you were quite impressive yourself, casually mentioning the Chairwoman to raise the stakes without batting an eye."
"Ha ha!"
"Ha ha ha!!"
Behind the two 1st Ranks, laughing uproariously──
Chloe and Lusman wore utterly strange expressions, their bodies trembling with a sense of foreboding.
*
"......Ngh."
Count Anton Beryl opened his eyes to the cold morning air. The weather wasn't truly chilly yet, but the proximity to the sea brought the ocean breeze all the way here.
A normal territory would light fires in the lord's castle using magic stones or firewood.
Unfortunately, that was impossible for House Beryl.
Glug.
Anton drank the lukewarm water beside his bed and pulled himself up. The current state of the county was such that they even had to conserve firewood to heat the castle.
The money he'd painstakingly saved coin by coin over more than ten years had all gone into purchasing the collapsed rock salt mine and the surrounding territory. Even that hadn't been enough, and he'd been forced to borrow money as well.
There was no turning back now.
'It's cold.'
Was the cold the fault of the sea wind, or of the three major figures he'd let slip away today?
After the negotiations with the Grandis Academy's Finance Director and the royal finance officer had fallen through, Anton found it unbearably frustrating to have lost such enormous investors.
'Grandis Academy, the Chairwoman, the royal family.'
Even an investment from one of those three would have been a staggering sum. And to think the academy's Finance Director was also acting as the Chairwoman's proxy.
For Anton, who had planned to negotiate with the Chairwoman if the talks with the Finance Director failed, this was an unforeseen problem. And on top of that, the royal family had refused as well.
They'd turned down an opportunity to exert influence over one of the rock salt mines? How?
'Marcus Lutel, the finance officer.'
He'd heard the man was stiff and frustrating. And that he'd risen all the way to that position despite being only 1st Rank.
Why had the royal family sent Finance Officer Marcus as their representative, of all people?
Though he was 2nd Rank like them, Anton, born a noble, couldn't easily grasp that question.
'Softening the condition... is out of the question after all.'
Even Anton himself, honestly, thought a hundred years was a bit shameful, but weren't there trading companies and noble houses that had already accepted that condition?
If he relaxed the condition now just for the academy and the royal family because they were big players, there would surely be complaints.
Moreover, if he shortened the period, the annual payment amounts would increase exponentially.
...In truth, even then, a hundred years was slightly excessive. Even if he cut it by half and then half again, the profits from the mine alone would more than suffice.
But Anton was indulging his greed.
The greed to rebuild his county.
'I must minimize the money going out.'
Because House Beryl needed as much money as possible to regain its past glory.
In the once-in-a-lifetime gamble of rebuilding the rock salt mine, Anton wanted to wring out every possible advantage.
It was only natural for a person to be overly greedy given a single chance.
Unfortunately for him, the same was true for other people.
"M-my lord!"
"Norman? What is it at this hour?"
"The Gartua Merchant Chief has come to see you!"
"The Gartua Merchant Chief...?"
One of the parties that had already signed an investment contract.
Because Anton had received an advance payment from him, he'd been able to hire 5th Rank mages and begin reconstruction work right away.
What business could the head of that trading company possibly have at this early hour?
Sensing instinctive foreboding, Anton hurriedly dressed and went down to the reception room.
"I apologize for the hour, Count Anton."
"Think nothing of it. If our Gartua Merchant Chief has come urgently, then hospitality is only proper. So, what is the matter?"
The middle-aged merchant chief, his expression set with resolve, bowed his head to him.
Closing his eyes and pondering briefly, he soon faced Anton directly.
"I wish to withdraw my investment."
"What do you...!? What is this all of a sudden!"
"As stipulated in the contract, I will pay the penalty fee. I mean to wash my hands of this."
"Wait, just wait. Please reconsider! More importantly, why have you made such a decision out of the blue?"
The penalty fee and the rest didn't matter. It would be a substantial amount, sure, but compared to the investment, it was a drop in the bucket.
Moreover, the Gartua Merchant Chief had invested the largest sum. If he pulled out, even the ongoing employment costs for the 5th Rank mages would become tight.
Now fully wide awake, Anton urgently pressed the Gartua Merchant Chief.
The chief answered with a sigh.
"Count, I am a humble merchant. I pride myself on running a fairly successful enterprise, but compared to the giants, I am endlessly small."
"Why are you suddenly...?"
"That is precisely why I decided to invest, to bulk up. Even with a hundred-year installment plan, I judged it would be fine as long as my company could be maintained until then. You could call it the biggest gamble of my life."
"Then why!"
"...I heard the news at the inn. That the Chairwoman and the royal family had refused to invest."
The Chairwoman. And the royal family.
In an instant, the faces of Adam Caines and Marcus Lutel flashed through Anton's mind.
"I pondered long and hard what it meant that the Chairwoman, an 8th Rank and the richest person in the kingdom, and the royal family had refrained from investing."
"Hold on, Gartua Merchant Chief."
"The thought occurred to me: perhaps there's something I've overlooked? In the end, my vessel was simply too small. I apologize."
At first glance, the Gartua Merchant Chief's words sounded persuasive.
The Chairwoman and the royal family were the greatest wealth-holders in this kingdom. If they weren't investing, there must be a reason for it.
Following that line of thought and withdrawing his investment seemed plausible.
But Anton ground his teeth.
"Don't lie to me, Gartua Merchant Chief."
"What do you mean...?"
"A moment ago, as you said yourself, you are a merchant. And for a merchant, the Chairwoman and the royal family not jumping into the investment should actually be welcome news."
"............."
"Because then you could solidify your position as the mine's largest investor."
In fact, hadn't the Gartua Merchant Chief aimed for precisely that, investing a sum large relative to his company's size?
He had also meticulously scrutinized every document on the mine and even personally visited the collapsed rock salt mine to inspect it.
Above all, the Gartua Trading Company was a firm that specialized in minerals. There was no way they lacked knowledge or confidence about a mine.
Anton's experience and instincts were screaming at him.
That merchant chief before his eyes was lying.
"Speak plainly, Gartua Merchant Chief."
".........."
"What are you plotting?"
At Anton's probing words, the Gartua Merchant Chief wore an expression of genuine incomprehension.
It was a merchant's performance, one Anton could easily see through.
"I am unlearned and do not understand the count's meaning. Nevertheless, I shall stay at the inn until this evening and depart tomorrow."
"................"
"Forgive my intrusion at this early hour."
Watching the merchant chief's back as he left the reception room, Anton intuited how matters had been arranged.
'A rumor heard at the inn, the Gartua Merchant Chief's change of heart, and finally a time limit that seems to leave a deliberate opening at the end.'
By this point, it was practically a signal, inviting him to figure it out.
Adam Caines and Marcus Lutel were──
'Working in collusion!'
They had persuaded the Gartua Merchant Chief and were working together. The reason, of course, was to soften the investment terms.
And the fact that they'd succeeded in persuading the very investor who should have welcomed this situation meant───
"M-my lord. The other investors... have also arrived."
"...Damn it."
It meant the others would be coming to withdraw their investments as well.
Anton's eyes glittered with a piercing light.